Special criminal record certificate for election purposes
For the purposes of candidacy of natural persons they are entitled to request a special criminal record certificate from the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration
For the purposes of candidacy of natural persons:- for a member of the Croatian Parliament, or
- for a member of the representative body of a local or regional self-government unit, for mayor, county executive or their respective deputy, as well as for the deputy mayor or deputy county executive from the ranks of members of national minorities or members of the minority Croatian people,
The certificate contains partial information from the criminal records for a specific person for the criminal offences listed in the legislation governing the election of members to the Croatian Parliament and local elections.
This means that a natural person will obtain a certificate of no criminal record in relation to the criminal offences specified by said legislation.
The special criminal record certificate for election purposes may be requested and obtained:
- upon entry into force of the decision to call elections to the Croatian Parliament, until the end date for the nomination of candidate lists
- upon entry into force of the decision to call local elections, until the end date for the nomination of candidate lists for members of the representative bodies of local and regional self-government units and for the submission of candidacies for mayors, county executives and their respective deputies, as well as for deputy mayors and deputy county executives from the ranks of members of national minorities or members of the minority Croatian people.
A special criminal record certificate for election purposes can be obtained:
- via the e-Citizens portal
- at the seat of the relevant municipal court or its permanent service.
Issuance of the certificate via the e-Citizens Portal
A special criminal record certificate for election purposes can only be issued via the e-Citizens portal to a natural person.No administrative fee is payable for the issuance of a special criminal record certificate for election purposes.
All criminal record certificates for election purposes issued via the e-Citizens portal are issued by the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration.
The issued certificate can be found on the page listing the submitted applications and will also be delivered to the User Mailbox of registered users of the e-Citizen portal.
If the natural person does not have a criminal record, the certificate will be issued and delivered without delay, and if the person has a criminal record, the Ministry will verify all available data and issue the criminal record certificate without delay, not later than 3 days from the date of receipt of the request.
All criminal record certificates issued via the e-Citizens portal are issued as an electronic record certified with an electronic signature and therefore do not contain a handwritten signature or stamp of the Ministry.
The authenticity of the criminal record certificate may be verified through the Criminal Record Authentication portal during a period of three months from the date of its issue, according to the instructions on the certificate.
The special criminal record certificate for election purposes is issued in the Croatian language.
Issuance of the certificate at the seat of the municipal court or its permanent service
To obtain a special criminal record certificate for election purposes at the seat of the relevant municipal court or its permanent service, a natural person must:- fill out the application form VI a for elections for members of the Croatian Parliament i.e. form VII a for local elections (forms also available for download under Documenti)
- enclose a photocopy of a valid personal identity card or passport.
The certificate may be requested in person by a natural person or their attorney in fact, whereby the attorney in fact must enclose with the application the power of attorney given by the person for whom the certificate is requested, which must be notarised or certified by the Croatian embassy or consular office in the country of the person’s residence.
If the natural person does not have a criminal record, the certificate will be issued and delivered without delay, and if the person has a criminal record, the court will ask the Ministry to issue the criminal record certificate, and the Ministry will verify all available data and issue the criminal record certificate without delay, not later than 3 days from the date of receipt of the request, and deliver it to the court.
The special criminal record certificate for election purposes is issued in the Croatian language.